SINGAPORE: Two men and a woman were charged on Tuesday (Apr 21) with various offences after breaching their stay-home notices in separate cases.
Chong Chun Wah, 48, allegedly left his Bukit Batok home three times after returning from Indonesia and being served with a stay-home notice.
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Chong Chun Wah, a 48-year-old Singaporean who breached his stay-home notice, is seen outside the State Courts on Apr 21, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
He returned to Singapore on Mar 17 and was ordered to stay home from Mar 17 to Mar 31, but allegedly took a bus to Jurong East to buy food on Mar 24.
Chong is accused of exposing others to the risk of infection by appearing in a public place when he used public transport to visit a coffee shop at Block 252, Jurong East that day.
He had reason to suspect that he had been in contact with a COVID-19 case, the charge sheet stated.
He is accused of leaving his home for about five minutes to check his mail at the ground floor of his block four days later.
On Mar 29, he allegedly walked to a coffee shop in Bukit Batok to buy food, spending 30 minutes to 45 minutes outside.
He said he did not wish to engage a lawyer, and will return to court for a pre-trial conference for his three charges on May 8.
Siti Wan Su’Aidah Samsuri, 25, returned to Singapore from Australia on Mar 25 and was ordered to stay home until Apr 8.
However, she allegedly left her Woodlands home on Mar 30 and walked to Vista Point to buy groceries and cigarettes, failing to pick up multiple calls from Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers during this time.
The judge told her that the prosecution will not object to a fine if she pleaded guilty, and Siti said she wanted to engage a lawyer. The case was adjourned for a pre-trial conference on May 8.
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Siti Wan Su’Aidah, a 25-year-old Singaporean who breached her stay-home notice, is seen outside the State Courts on Apr 21, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
American commercial pilot Brian Dugan Yeargan, 44, arrived in Singapore from Australia on Apr 3 and was issued a short-term visit pass that was valid for 30 days, said ICA in a statement.
He was given a stay-home notice from Apr 3 to Apr 17, but allegedly left Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, where he was staying.
He is accused of taking a train from Changi Airport MRT station to City Hall two days later on Apr 5 and walking to Chinatown Point to shop and buy personal items, spending about three hours outside.
Yeargan’s lawyer said his client was worried about his family and wished to return home to them as soon as possible. He agreed to a tentative date for Yeargan to plead guilty on Thursday.
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Brian Dugan Yeargan, a 44-year-old United States citizen who breached his stay-home notice, is seen outside the State Courts on Apr 21, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Each of them face up to six months’ jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both, for every charge under the Infectious Diseases Act and its regulations.
The three are the latest to be charged over breaching stay-home notices.
A man has pleaded guilty to breaching his order to run errands and eat bak kut teh with his girlfriend, while a newspaper vendor is accused of leaving home to deliver newspapers.
A third man allegedly left his home in the wee hours to meet a friend.
Others have been charged with coronavirus-related offences: Two foreign workers for breaching quarantine orders, a suspected illegal race organiser for gathering more than 10 people for an event and a man for slapping the hand of a safe-distancing ambassador.
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